The discovery of this stream was made by Z. Sekanina during the 1961-1965 phase of the Radio Meteor Project conducted at Havana, Illinois. A total of 15 radio meteors were detected between January 29 and February 28. Sekanina found Earth to cross the stream's node on February 13.6, at which time the radiant was at α=314.3°, δ=-23.7°. The stream's geocentric velocity was determined to be 26.8 km/s.

The Chi Capricornids were essentially confirmed during 1969, when G. Gartrell and W. G. Elford, using the Adelaide, Australia, radio meteor system, detected 3 meteors during February 10-17, which possessed an average radiant of α=316°, δ=-21°.

Sekanina concluded that the stream possessed a close association with the Apollo asteroid Adonis (D-criterion=0.185) and suggested it might be the twin branch of the Sigma Capricornids of July (D-criterion=0.187). Gartrell and Elford suggested a possible association with the periodic comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova. Gartrell and Elford suggested that B. G. Marsden and Sekanina's 1971 discovery of strong nongravitational forces influencing this comet's motion should not rule out "the possibility of related meteor streams with significantly different orbits...."